Elon Musk to Buy Twitter: What Would YOU Do With 44 Billion Dollars? by Ann Marie G. Halstead

Elon Musk soon may have the keys to Twitter. Musk, the richest man on earth, plans to purchase the social media company for the cool price of 44 billion dollars, cash. The potential transaction has left me, and countless others, wondering: Is Musk buying the ability to reshape discourse on Twitter? 

The Tesla CEO has made clear his intention to modify Twitter’s rules in order to maximize free speech. But will he now control the conversation? There’s much to be considered here and we’ll learn more if Musk settles in as the owner of the social media company.

In the meantime, I’m curious about something else: the 44 billion dollars. It’s hard for many of us to wrap our minds around that amount of money. But I find myself thinking about what I would do with that kind of wealth if I had it. I was curious what friends, family and our 30Seconds community would do with 44 billion dollars, so I asked them. 

Here is how they answered the billion dollar question. As you can see, we received many responses and people have some wonderful ideas!

1. "Find ways to create world peace. Too much turmoil right now!"
2. "Donate to Ukraine. Donate to animal welfare sites. Feed the poor. Cure Alzheimer’s."
3. "Max out everyone’s Go Fund Me pages."
4. "I would focus on community building projects for urban areas that focused on raising the living standards of the whole community. Sort of like the Atlanta belt line project. I'd also give out grants to those who would use them to build their community."
5. "Fight child abuse; babies and children can't protect themselves."
6. "Sleep for a week while I thought about it."
7. "Pay off my student loan, buy a nice home, pay off my aunt’s debt, take care of my nieces’ college education, invest, pay for my funeral and late-life nursing arrangements, and continue to live like I was broke and had no income."
8. "Invest in ways to save the planet and to help the people on it."
9. "Become Batman. Seriously."
10. "[Prioritize] self-care for me and my kids! And lots of classes, coaches, personal health chefs, great wine and therapy! Oh, and building out my garden with one of every kind of flower."
11. "Work with a nonprofit to lower utility payments for low income families with insulation, energy efficient appliances, solar, etc."
12. "Donate $43 billion to well-researched charitable causes and still be a billionaire myself."
13. "Faint!"
14. "Quit working, invest some, travel with the rest. Forever."
15. "I’d work with people who really know what they are doing to help end global hunger, provide medical services, supplies and assistance all around the world with a special focus on the elderly, children and special need patients, invest in the arts, work with micro loans to get people started on their dreams which will be better thought out than anything I can decide for them, aid environmental initiatives, give to social justice causes, and invest in quality education from kindergarten to graduate studies which lead to innovative thinking."
16. "Share it!"
17. "Give money to every person in my town and hometown to stimulate the economy and give people an opportunity to pursue a goal or dream of theirs."
18. "Invest every cent in finding a cure for cancer."
19. "Fund long-term care for my husband and me to keep that burden from my child, and enjoy traveling and immersing myself in a many cultures as possible."
20. "Move people out of poverty."
21. "[Start] a small, creative, beautifully inclusive school, and then lots of that same model in lots of communities! Small classes, flexible curriculum, an inspirational setting and lots of nature on the grounds! (And a beach house for me because I can afford it with that kinda money!)"
22. "Buy a cottage on Keuka Lake and pay for college for a lot of kids!"
23. "Get my son the care he needs."
24. "Do something good for the world. Like fully fund a program already working to end homelessness. Or give money to medical research or organizations working toward universal health care."
25. "Pay off my student loans, get a nice meal and give away the rest."
26. "Put a dent in ANYTHING to lift people up."
27. "[Donate to organizations focusing on] housing, health care, food security, plus coverage of college education for those that need it in my community. Probably start my own school with better pay for educators and a more flexible, creative, hands-on approach to learning and it would include swimming, cooking, farming and sign language as basic curriculum."
28. "Make sure that every Planned Parenthood is fully funded forever."
29. "Invest in education initiatives: building schools, funding libraries and museums, sponsoring field trips, etc."
30. "I would buy every banned book I could get my hands on and pass them out for free. I’d also buy my husband a motorcycle and a boat."
31. "Choose 44 important causes and donate a billion to that ... Basically I’d do anything other than buy a silly app that people use for free."
32. "Buy a house on a farm, new vehicles, pay my debts and my family's debt. Set my kids up for life (but don't tell them so they still appreciate hard work), buy a motor home and travel the USA."
33. "I’d like to pay off debt for strangers. I’d also like to provide free health care for people who need it most. I’d also pay off mortgages for my family."
34. "Grow my business, invest and travel."
35. "Invest a couple billion in green energy, sustainable tech and other initiatives to help the planet. Invest in alternative learning centers to bring back hands-on apprenticeship style learning and save dying arts by teaching the next generation how to do them."
36. "Anything I want!"
37. "I'd just focus on how I could help others and our planet all while traveling and experiencing the world with my kids."
38. "Set my mom up, pay for college, buy a house on the Cape, travel and donate the other 42 billion."
39. "Buy a home. Pay off mother-in-law's home. Set up an education fund for my grandson. Donate to St. Jude's, veterans’ organizations and many food banks."
40. "Pay off all the debts of my entire family and friends. Invest a ton and donate lots and lots to infinite amounts of worthy causes!"

Clearly so many of us care about others, including strangers and want to make a difference. If only we were all billionaires. As for me, I’d take care of my family and friends, buy a house on a lake for my little family and then get to work trying to make a difference. Affordable housing is a cause near and dear to my heart so I think I’d start there, listening to those who are impacted as well as those who know far more than I do. I’m not a billionaire but know that I can still make a difference. We all can.

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